Cinema Alliance Movie Reviews

I have to say I’ve been looking forward to this film for quite some time once I heard of Tim Burton’s involvement. I’m a big Tim Burton fan and thought he would do a great job with his interpretation of the book, and he didn’t disappoint.

The actors are excellent: Mia Wasikowska plays the role of Alice well as a coming into her own character that’s dealing with a bit of an identity crisis, especially after continually being told she’s the “wrong” Alice which echos sentiments from earlier parts of the film. Helena Bonham Carter plays the Red Queen spot on dialing things up when she should (OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!) and dialing back at the right times. Crispin Glover plays the role of Stayne convincingly as an obnoxious out for himself villain. And Johnny Depp as the hatter – well, he’s Johnny Depp which in itself is a compliment, the guy just can seem to do no wrong in the characters he portrays. The only actor I thought was OK but not great was Anne Hathaway who’s White Queen I felt was a bit stiff and forced. There were also some CG characters in here played by: Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Timothy Spall, and Matt Lucas, all of whom turned in fine performances (especially Alan Rickman as the hookah smoking Blue Catepillar).

If you’re a fan of the story try to catch this in digital 3-D, just try to time your arrival at the theater after the onslaught of commercials so it doesn’t effect your enjoyment of the film (see my rant about AMC). Otherwise be sure to check it out on DVD or PPV.

reviewed by Sean McKnight

I just caught this again recently and wanted to write it up for the blog, so here we go…

Mark Wahlberg plays Izzy, the singer of a local tribute band that covers his favorite band named Steel Dragon. The story is supposed to be roughly based on Judas Priest, who went through a situation similar with their singer (Rob Halford) when he left the band; they filled the vacated slot with a singer from a Judas Priest tribute band. The story of Rock Star follows the same premise.

Once Wahlberg is in the band, the story turns in more of a sex, drugs and rock and roll direction with a behind the scenes view of the women, the tours and the over the top lifestyle so many people have dreamed of through rock and roll. Of course the ultimate destination of this lifestyle doesn’t turn out so well and drama ensues. The relationship between Wahlberg and his girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) is put to the test through the process of them dealing with events that are consequence of the formulaic rock star lifestyle.

All-in-all a pretty well told story and entertaining to watch. It’s a bit typical with no surprises but is still worth checking out. The ending is a bit cliche’ but is pulled off well.

The cast does great in their roles and includes Jennifer Aniston as Izzy’s girlfriend, Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail from the Harry Potter films) and the rest of Steel Dragon including: Jason Bonham (son of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham), Jeff Pilson (Dokken, Foreignor), Zakk Wylde (Ozzy, Black Label Society) and Dominic West (300, HBO’s The Wire), the only other actor in the group next to Wahlberg.

The music is a large part of the experience and includes a healthy dose of heavy metal / hard rock some of it even sung by Mark Wahlberg who does a great job with the vocals surprisingly. I say surprisingly because during some of the behind the scenes footage, Wahlberg complains about metal and mentions how much more he’s about hip-hop. Personally I’d take his vocals in Steel Dragon any day over Marky Mark (seriously dude, Marky Mark? Really? Let it go.).

reviewed by Sean McKnight